During the half term holidays, we were invited to take part in a Halloween cook along with Hello Fresh. I was interested in trying out their subscription boxes as they look really healthy and tasty and keen to pick up a few cooking tips from hello Fresh chef Patrick Drake. We were sent a family box with four family sized meals and a few extra goodies for the children. With the help of my two spooky sou chefs we prepared to cook up a storm.
I was really impressed with just how much food was fit into the box. It was very well packed with the meat in a freezer style bag so it is fine to be left in a safe place outside your house. In the box was enough food for four delicious sounding meals as well as easy to follow recipe cards. All the food was really fresh and had clear use by dates on so you could plan each meal.
The recipe we followed for the cook along was Sicilian Caponata with Herbed Pork and Garlic Ciabatta.
The recipe looked easy to follow, but it was great to have a real chef taking us through every step so we could make sure our meals were cooked to perfection.
The twins really loved this experience. They enjoyed watching each step and then trying to copy it. They found it really amazing when Chef Patrick talked to them and knew our names. Normally that doesn’t happen on Youtube videos!
We picked up lots of chopping techniques. I always find chopping vegetables really hard and make a bit of a hash of it but this has definitely made me a bit more confident. It was also good to see just how much the girls can do.
Once the vegetables were chopped we coated them in the olive oil, This was the fun part.
The girls were fascinated by the giant sausage! We have only ever bought individual sausages before. We took the sausage meat out of the skin and chopped it into pieces.
Once the ingredients were chopped we let them cook on the stove. The girls enjoyed storing it, very carefully. They even tried some new ingredients. This was capers which I was really surprised to find they liked.
They both had to have a turn stirring of course!
I did have a couple of minor disasters. The vegetables and the ciabatta were slightly crisper than I would have liked. My oven is quite hot so we will have to adjust the times for the other recipes.
We learned a few new techniques, such as rubbing the ciabatta with garlic. It was also good to see what it looked like at each stage. When you are making a new recipe it’s always a bit nerve-wracking hoping it will turn out alright.
The finished meal was really delicious. It had a lovely sweet and sour taste. The girls started tucking in before we had even finished filming the cook along. It was lovely to try a new recipe and to have all the ingredients in the same place. Sometimes I fall back on the same old meals because I can’t be bothered to search for all the ingredients. I also liked the fact you are given exactly the amount of each ingredient so there isn’t any waste.
A family box costs £64. This gives you enough food and recipes for four meals for about 4-5 people and includes free postage. These boxes would be great if you wanted to try some new recipes but didn’t fancy all the shopping and planning. There are lots of steps for getting your kids to help in the kitchen. If you’re lucky they will even do the washing up.
Great News! The Hello Fresh team loved the photo of the twins so are giving me a family box to giveaway!
Disclaimer: We were sent a family box so we could take part in the cook along
